Lawler, Iowa

 

The Lawler City Council met in regular session on November 5, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

Mayor Mueterthies presided.

Council members present: Izer, King, Kuehner, Croell, Scheidel

Others present: Jay Uhlenhake, Frank Wilson, Joe Langreck, Ray Armel

Motion made by King to approve the Agenda.  Seconded by Scheidel.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

Moved made by Scheidel, seconded by Izer to approve the previous minutes and current bills to be paid.   All Ayes.  Motion passed.

WINDSTREAM	PHONE	94.04
ARAMARK	RUGS	214.1
JENDRO	GARBAGE CONTRACT	2,119.38
SANDEAN & COOMPANY, INC	DUMP TRUCK-BRAKE LINE	503.25
STANTON ELECTRIC		143.82
UPS	Karen Wilson	34.33
TEST AMERICA	WASTEWATER TESTING	179.55
EFTPS	FED/FICA TAX	1,530.70
IPERS	IPERS	1,059.60
BLACK HILLS ENERGY	GAS UTILITY	116.96
MIENERGY	ELECTRICITY	19,877.55
CASH	GASOLINE	308.2
FIVE STAR COOP	FIELDMASTER DYED DLVD	403.01
HAWKINS	AZONE & LPC-4	673.66
IOWA DEPT OF REVNUE/SALES	SALES TAX	1,095.00
BLAZEK CORPORATION	CULVERT CLEANING AND STORM SEW	517.5
TEAM LAB	ROAD PATCH AND ICE MELT	545.5
NEW HAMPTON TRIBUNE	MEETING 10/1/2018	162
ROGER DRECKMAN	MANHOLE/MAIN & LINCOLN	5,000.00
UNITES STATES POSTAL	10 ROLLS POSTCARD STAMPS	600
MIC’S PLUMBING & HEATING	CITY HALL FURNACE	357.96
IWD	UNEMPLOY 9/2018	10.69
PATHWAYS	DONATION	468
QUALITY PUMP		3,845.25
JAY UHLENHAKE	STREET PAINT SPRAYER	350
CROELL INC	SAND SNOW REMOVAL	205.92
TERRY DURIN CO	street lights	604
NAPA	DISCONNECT SWITCH	44
DENNIS UNGS	SOFTWARE UPGRADE	321.6
ROYAL PUBLISHING	2018 IA XCOUNTRY AD	175
FRONTER	RAISE FLOOR IN LIBRARY	600
DOT	SALT ROCK	928.08
DEPOSIT REFUNDS	REFUND DATE 10/09/2018	123.81
DEPOSIT REFUNDS	REFUND DATE 10/26/2018	126.41
PAYROLL CHECKS	TOTAL PAYROLL CHECKS	5,003.12
	CLAIMS TOTAL	48,341.99	REVENUE BY FUND
	GENERAL FUND	14,624.30	33541.01
	SANITATION FUND	2,119.38	2309.6
	ROAD USE TAX FUND	941.68	3398.81
	WATER FUND	2,347.33	5536.87
	SEWER FUND	6,073.51	6069.7
	ELECTRIC FUND	22,109.38	2636.46
	DEPOSITS – ELECTRIC FUND	126.41	-225
	EMERGENCY FUND		725.06
	LOST		3491.17

 

The council reviewed the Annual Financial Report.  Motion made by Croell and seconded by Kuehner to approve the Annual Financial Report.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors approved the Voluntary Application for Annexation to the City of Lawler.  Jay, Mark and Suzette met with the Alliant Energy representative, Dustin Mohs to discuss the utility zoning map.  Currently, Alliant Energy has the Utility lines in the property to be annexed into the City.  Suzette has talked with MiEnergy if they have maps outlining the utility property lines.  The city attorney has recommended waiting until the utility problem is resolved before the resolution is passed and approved.  If it were to be approved before the issue is resolved the city would have to use Alliant Energy for the territory to be annexed.  Alliant would need to sign of first with written documentation.

Ray Armel, County Assessor also informed the city that the description of the property to be annexed in is incorrect.  I informed him of the only description I have for the property was on the survey which was given to the City by Kurt Croell.  Suzette will call the City attorney and discuss with him.

Municipal Pipe Contract was discussed.  It is a 5 year contract at $4,000 per year.  It includes emergency cleaning of the sewers.  Moved by Izer to accept the Municipal Pipe Contract and second by Croell.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

The city received three furnace bids from Marv Smith, Mic’s Plumbing and Heating and Fredericksburg Plumbing & Heating.  Jay will ask if they can give a bid to include A/C.

Motion made by Scheidel to table the Furnace bids.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes.  Motion Passed.

Rosenbaum Auto and Sandean gave tire bids for the city pickup.  The council reviewed the bids. Moved by Scheidel to accept the Rosenbaum Auto bid.  Second by Izer.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Carpet cleaning bids was from Northeast Iowa Carpet Cleaning and Dean’s Carpet Cleaning.  The council reviewed the bids.  Moved by Izer to accept Dean’s Carpet Cleaning Bid.  Second by Scheidel.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

DOT sent an Application to Perform Work within State Highway Right of Way.  They need approval to put Detour Signs on Hwy 24 near County Roads V-56 and Vanderbilt Ave.  The Detour is planned to start April 2019.  Motion made by Izer to give approval.  Second by Scheidel.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Dale King was concerned when the Highland Park Restroom roof would be repaired since insurance paid.  Need to receive bids for the roof repair and privacy fence.  The insurance company will not insure the restroom until this is fixed and they will need pictures.

Frank Wilson discussed a variance for his garage.  He then decided he did not want to proceed.

The Federal Money has been approved for the Railroad Crossings.  The DOT sent the Federal agreements to be signed for the installation of arms and lights for 3 streets.

Delinquent accounts were discussed.

The next meeting will be December 4, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Motion by Scheidel and second by King to adjourn at 8:20 p.m.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

________________________________

Suzette Byrne, City Clerk

---

The Lawler City Council met in regular session on October 1, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

Mayor Mueterthies presided.

Council members present: Izer, King, Kuehner, Croell, Scheidel (arrived at 7:10pm)

Others present: Jay Uhlenhake, Kurt Croell, Frank Wilson, Stephanie Tangen, Cathy Humpal

Motion made by King to approve the Agenda.  Seconded by Croell.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

Moved made by Kuehner, seconded by King to approve the previous minutes and current bills to be paid.   All Ayes.  Motion passed.

WINDSTREAM	PHONE	113.3
ARAMARK	RUGS	186.14
JENDRO	GARBAGE CONTRACT	1,924.78
STANTON ELECTRIC	REPLACE POLE	5,866.04
UPS	SHIPPING	39.97
TEST AMERICA	DRINKING WATER	50.75
EFTPS	FED/FICA TAX	1,455.93
IPERS	IPERS	1,012.56
STATE WITHHOLDING	STATE TAXES	875
BLACK HILLS ENERGY	GAS UTILITY	101.93
MIENERGY	ELECTRICITY	26,159.02
CASH	LAGGOON	356.82
FIVE STAR COOP	CLEAR #2 diesel FUEL DUMP TRUC	57.67
HAWKINS	AZONE	257.16
IOWA LEAGUE	2018 BUDGET WORKSHOP	45
WELLMARK BLUE CROSS	10/01/2018-1/1/19	2,613.45
QUILL CORPORATION	PAPER TOWELS	16.99
LAWLER FIRE DEPARTMENT	FY19 1ST ALLOTMENT	2,756.13
DNR	ANNUAL WATER USE FEE 2019	134
ANDERSON	6/14/2018-8/28/2018	1,125.00
MICK GAGE	RESTROOM RENTAL	90
JAY UHLENHAKE	HOTEL REIMBURSEMENT	327.8
TERRY DURIN CO	ELECTRIC	220
MARC	WASH N WAX AND MINT POWER OFF	239.19
DEPOSIT REFUNDS	REFUND DATE 09/19/2018	472.78
DEPOSIT REFUNDS	REFUND DATE 09/26/2018	27.97
PAYROLL CHECKS	TOTAL PAYROLL CHECKS	4,791.88
	CLAIMS TOTAL	51,317.26
		EXPENSE	REVENUE
	GENERAL FUND	9,843.52	8510.97
	SANITATION FUND	1,924.78	2490.67
	ROAD USE TAX FUND	1,055.64	5392.1
	WATER FUND	2,613.21	7193.46
	SEWER FUND	2,845.69	7002.57
	ELECTRIC FUND	32,977.87	34666.92
	DEPOSITS – ELECTRIC FUND	56.55	71.42

 

Kurt Croell was here to give the council an update on the annexation of property into city limits.  Alliant Energy has agreed to give the property to Mienergy for electricity use.  The city will need a letter stating that Alliant Energy is willing to do this.  Suzette explained that the City cannot go any further with this until Kurt returns application for annexation.  Suzette will send him a new form to fill out to return.  After we receive the application we can move on.  Mark said to call Ray Armel attend next month’s meeting.

Cathy Humpal discussed the Libraries proposal for the Chickasaw County Library Association Trustees on October 22, 2018 and the Chickasaw County Supervisors on November 5, 2018; this helps libraries accreditation for state funding.

The city hall and libraries carpet were discussed.  Moisture is seeping through cracks in the cement under the carpet causing stains on the carpet.   This has happened in the past.  Motion made by King to take bids for cleaning the carpet and to jack up the floor with mud jacking. Second by Kuehner.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

There have been bats in the city hall.  Suzette did some checking on a $50 ultrasonic device to hang in the city hall.  Bats don’t like the sound.  She has called the Bat Control Specialists and left a message with them letting them know that there are still bats in the building.  Motion made by Croell to call the bat specialists again and if they don’t respond in 48 hours to invest in ultrasonic.  Second by Kuehner.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Cathy Humpal reminded the council that she is a city employee and did not get a raise when they gave city employees raises.   King made a motion to give Cathy Humpal a 3% raise.   Croell seconded.   All ayes.  Motion passed

Ordinance 6-6-21 Watercourses was discussed.  The ordinance states the property owner or person in possession or control of the adjacent land is responsible to keep the flat or accessible portion of the creek bank free of any weeds and grasses more than six inches in height.   Some residents do not have access to equipment to properly clean of the stream.  Some cannot afford to pay to have this cleaned up.   Izer suggested to have a City Clean Up the Creek Day on a Saturday.  He said he could ask farmers if they would help with the use of their equipment and ask for volunteers within the city.  The city would need signed easements from the property owners to have access to drive on their property.    If the city cleans up the creek this one time, it would be the property owner’s responsibility to keep it clean.  Motion made by Izer to hold a Saturday Clean Up the Creek day led by John Izer.  Second by Croell.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Ordinance No. 331 regarding the $15 Utility Fee was discussed.  Suzette explained why it hasn’t be on the assessed on the utility bills.  The software company cannot fit the fees on the current utility bill postcards.  Currently the $15 is made up of $5 for electric, $5 for water, $5 for sewer.  Suzette is checking to find bigger utility billing postcards that is slightly bigger and checking with the software company again.

Suzette explained Resolutions 10012018-1 and 10012018-2 to transfer funds from Water, Sewer and LOST fund to the Debt Service fund for the John Deere tractor payment. Motion made by Scheidel to pass the Resolutions.  Second by Izer.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Jay discussed the Maintenance Contract for the Generator at the Well house.  He will look into other companies regarding this.  Motion made by Izer to table the generator contract.  Second by Croell.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Delinquent accounts were discussed.

The next meeting will be November 5, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Motion by Scheidel and second by King to adjourn at 8:05 p.m.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

________________________________

Suzette Byrne, City Clerk

 

 

The Lawler City Council met in regular session on September 4, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

Mayor Mueterthies presided.

Council members present: Izer, King, Scheidel (arrived at 7:10pm)    Absent: Kuehner. Croell

Others present: Jay Uhlenhake, Stephanie Tangen, Ray Armel

Motion made by King to approve the Agenda.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

Moved made by King, seconded by Izer to approve the previous minutes and current bills to be paid.   All Ayes.  Motion passed.

WINDSTREAM	PHONE	$115.26
ARAMARK	RUGS	$186.14
JENDRO	GARBAGE CONTRACT	$2,234.38
POLLARD PEST CONTROL CO.	PEST	$54.50
STANTON ELECTRIC	PUMP SHED LIGHTENING	$2,067.86
TEETER SPECIALTY CO. LLC	CHECKS	$146.59
TEST AMERICA	DRINKING WATER	$59.85
EFTPS	FED/FICA TAX	$1,527.43
IPERS	IPERS	$1,047.16
BLACK HILLS ENERGY	GAS UTILITY	$53.36
MIENERGY	ELECTRICITY	$28,221.10
PAUL NIEMANN CONSTRUCTION	LOVE CLASS A	$206.68
BLAZEK CORPORATION	DIG UP MUSKRAT HOLES IN LAGOON	$362.50
NEW HAMPTON TRIBUNE	AUGUST COUNCIL MINUTES 2018	$109.80
INRCOT	FY’19 DUES	$210.72
MICK GAGE	RESTROOM RENTAL 08/2018-09/201	$90.00
MUNICIPAL SUPPLY INC	M2 ANNUAL SOFTWARE SUPPORT	$1,950.00
CHICKASAW COUNTY TREASURE	PARCEL 190904176077	$286.00
IAWEA	ANNUAL CONFERENCE	$30.00
IOWA UTILITIES BOARD	IUB REMAINDER ASSESSMENT FY18	$63.00
DENNIS UNGS	FIXED EMAIL	$210.00
PAYROLL CHECKS	TOTAL PAYROLL CHECKS	$4,984.12
	CLAIMS TOTAL	$44,216.45	REVENUE BY FUND
	GENERAL FUND	$7,632.92	GENERAL	$251.87
	SANITATION FUND	$2,234.38	SANITATION	$2,367.87
	ROAD USE TAX FUND	$649.39	ROAD USE TAX	$5,619.59
	WATER FUND	$1,321.99	LOST	$3,491.16
	SEWER FUND	$2,655.22	WATER	$8,487.46
	ELECTRIC FUND	$29,722.55	SEWER	$6,201.29
			ELECTRIC	$30,448.86
			DEPOSIT	$28.58
			TOTAL REVENUE	$56,896.68

John Izer discussed Irish Fest.  Kurt Croell had discussed hanging Lawler Memorabilia in the back meeting room in the city hall.  Nothing will be on the floor.  This will be tabled for next meeting.

Suzette updated that she received a copy of the construction permit the DNR sent to William Croell.  Nothing else was discussed, table for next meeting.

Ray Armel, County Assessor was here to discuss the vacating of an alley by Frank Wilson’s property.  Mr. Armel had copies from the Beacon website to show there is no alley north of Frank Wilson’s property.  Vacating the alley would serve no purpose.  Motion made by Scheidel to rescind the vacating of the alley.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes. Motion passed

Street Finance Report, Resolution 07042018 was discussed.  Motion made by King to approve Resolution 07042018.  Seconded by Izer.  All ayes. Motion passed.

Motion made by Izer to approve Bucky’s Liquor License.  Seconded by Scheidel.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

City Ordinance 6-6-21-Watercourses was discussed.  The ordinance states the land owner is responsible to keep the flat or level part of the bank of said waterway free of any weeds or grasses more that sins inches in height.  The council has decided to table this for next month.

Suzette would like the City Hall hours changed to Monday – Thursday 8:30am -12:30 pm and 1:00pm – 3:00pm.  Friday hours would be 8:30am – 12:00pm.   Jay stated that residents have come in before 9:00 am to pay bills and Suzette said very few residents come in from 3:00 pm to 3:30pm.  Motion made by Scheidel to change office hours to Monday – Thursday 8:30am -12:30 pm and 1:00pm – 3:00pm.  Friday hours would be 8:30am – 12:00pm.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

The Highland Park Restroom roof needs repaired.  The city has received insurance money for this repair.  Some of the council said they would volunteer time to help with this repair.  The city had a quote from Roger Dreckman for the repair.  Motion made by King to spend the insurance money for the roof and privacy wall.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes.   Motion passed.

Suzette discussed the cities computer hard drive should be updated.  Dennis Ungs sent a quote to upgrade the current computer.  Motion made by Scheidel to accept quote from Dennis Ungs.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

The next meeting will be October 1, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Motion by Scheidel and second by King to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

_________________________________

Suzette Byrne, City Clerk

The Lawler City Council met in regular session on August 6, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

Mayor Mueterthies presided.

Council members present: Izer, Kuehner, King, Scheidel    Absent: Croell

Others present: Jay Uhlenhake, Frank Wilson, Deb Throndson

Motion made by King to approve the Agenda.  Izer seconded.  All Ayes. Motion passed.

Moved made by Izer, seconded by Kuehner to approve the previous minutes and current bills to be paid.   All Ayes.  Motion passed.

CLAIMS REPORT
VENDOR			REFERENCE	AMOUNT
ARAMARK			RUGS	186.14
BLACK HILLS ENERGY			GAS UTILITY	154.27
CASH INC			GAS	525.03
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RES			PER#1957001 FY19	210
EFTPS			FED/FICA TAX	1,643.14
FIVE STAR COOP			FERTILIZER PARKS	935.24
HAWKINS			WATER SUPPLIES	925.93
IOWA DEPT OF REVNUE			SALES TAX	1,126.00
IOWA ONE CALL				33.4
IOWA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION			2018 WATER MEETING	150
IPERS			IPERS	999.02
JENDRO SANITATION  SERVICES			GARBAGE CONTRACT	2,119.38
LAWLER FIRE DEPARTMENT			TRUCK PAYMENT	2,915.00
MICK GAGE PLUMBING & HEATING			CROELL PARK RESTROOMS	90
MIENERGY			ELECTRICITY	19,974.90
NEW HAMPTON TRIBUNE			JULY MEETING MINUTES	93.15
PAUL NIEMANN CONSTRUCTION			ROADS	87.66
QUILL CORPORATION				134.78
STANTON ELECTRIC			HOOK UP FOR BROWN ST HOUSE	200.18
TERRY DURIN CO			ELECTRIC METERS	400
TEST AMERICA			WATER TESTING	55.65
UPS				71.98
WELLMARK BLUE CROSS				2,613.45
WINDSTREAM			PHONE	106.44
TOTAL ACCOUNTS PAYABLE				35,750.74
PAYROLL CHECKS				5,686.23
DEPOSIT REFUNDS ON  7/24/2018				189.62
**** PAID    TOTAL *****				41,626.59
**** SCHED   TOTAL *****
***** REPORT TOTAL *****				41,626.59
REVENUE BY FUND
GENERAL	3,782.81
SANITATION	2,327.39
ROAD USE TAX	3,544.45
LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX	3,318.48
WATER	7,117.91
SEWER TOTAL	6,262.80
ELECTRIC	28,837.84
DEPOSITS-ELECTRIC	0
TOTAL REVENUE	52,001.65
TRANSFERS	6,518.75
Total Revenue and Transfers	58,520.40

 

Mark informed the Counsel of the Reap Grant recipients will be announced Thursday July 9, 2018.  This grant would be for the Croell Park Restroom Project.

Motion made by Izer to approve Bucky’s Cigarette Permit.  Seconded by King.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Suzette explained Resolution No. 06302018 to Transfer Funds from Local Option Tax to General Fund.    Motion made by King to approve Resolution No 06302018.  Seconded by Izer.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Frank Wilson discussed vacating his side of the alley on the WEST side of his home.  This would allow access to the houses on the other side of the alley.

Motion made by King to vacate 8ft of the alley on the WEST side of Frank Wilson’s house for $1.00 fee plus quit claim deed fees.  Seconded by Scheidel.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Ordinance 3-1-5 Section 6 Discharging Firearms and Fireworks (Code of Iowa, Sec. 727.2) was discussed.  It was discussed to amend the current ordinance to allow Fireworks 7 days before the 4^th of July and 7 days after the 4^th of July until 11:00 pm.  A permit will be required from the city with proof of homeowners insurance.

King made motion to amend Ordinance 3-1-5 Section 6.  Kuehner seconded. All Ayes. Motion passed.

The amendment for Ordinance No. 331 to change utility fees to add $5.00 monthly utility fee for Electric, $5.00 monthly utility fee for water, and $5.00 monthly utility for sewer.  Moved by Scheidel and seconded by King to approve the first reading of ordinance.  All ayes.  Motion passed. It was moved by King and seconded by Kuehner to wave the 2^nd and 3^rd readings. (According to Iowa code Section 380.3)  All ayes. Motion passed.

Motion made by Scheidel to approve Ordinance No. 331 Amendment.  Seconded by Izer.  All ayes.  Motion passed.

An update regarding the Annexation was discussed.   It will be tabled for next month.

Delinquent accounts were discussed.  Suzette will research what other small towns charge for deposits.  It was discussed to have landlords come to council meeting to discuss delinquent accounts.

The next meeting will be September 4, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

Motion by Scheidel and second by King to adjourn at 8:30 p.m.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

_________________________________

Suzette Byrne, City Clerk